Roster Review: Seimone Augustus

Editor’s Note: Every Tuesday, Kyle Ratke will be reviewing a member of the Minnesota Lynx. We will review the player’s best games, offseason plans and more. On Thursday, there will be a photo gallery to match the week’s featured player.

Seimone Augustus

Age: 29

Years Pro: 7

College: LSU

She’s only 29 years old? It seems like Augustus has been around forever. The truth of the matter is that Augustus has been here for Minnesota’s rebuilding process, which has resulted in two WNBA Championships. She’s been through the thick and thin with this team.

Augustus was remarkable once again in 2013. Her shots and scoring went down, but she was perhaps even more valuable as she hit a remarkable 51.6 percent of her shots. That’s not a typo. 51.6 percent from a shooting guard?! That’s crazy talk!

She was named to her fourth All-Star game and nearly took home the WNBA Finals MVP for the second time in her career. She was also named to the All-WNBA Second Team for the fourth time in her career. She’s become one of the WNBA’s best players of all time, and she’s only had seven seasons to do so. Her durability hasn’t been an issue, either. She missed three games last season due to a sprained ankle, but other than that, she didn’t miss a beat.

The Lynx would like to see Augustus improve from long distance. She shot just 29 percent from the 3-point line in 2013. That is probably due to a combination of the league moving the 3-point line back and her ability to nail the midrange shot at will.

After signing an extension with the Lynx, Augustus will be a big part of this squad for at least the next few years. Expect the foundation of Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, Maya Moore and Rebekkah Brunson to make another run at the WNBA Title in 2014.

We shouldn’t be surprised that the 2011 Finals MVP took her game up when it mattered most. In Game 2 of the 2013 WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream, Augustus led all scorers with 20 points, but more impressively was 9-of-12 from the field. She also added five rebounds, three assists and a steal while helping the Lynx to an 88-63 win, giving Minnesota a 2-0 series lead over the Dream. One could argue that Augustus was deserving of the MVP, but hey, that Maya Moore wasn’t all that bad herself.

Offseason Plans:

Augustus is playing for Dynamo Kursk (Russia) with Lynx teammate Rebekkah Brunson. In five Premier League games, Augustus is playing 35.5 minutes per game while averaging 15.8 points per game to go with 2.6 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals. She’s shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from the 3-point line and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line. In four EuroCup games, she’s averaging 16.8 points per game while playing 33 minutes. She’s hauling in 4.5 rebounds per game along with dishing out 2.5 assists. She’s shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free-throw line. She’s struggling from the 3-point line, shooting just 9.1 percent from deep.

Her last game came on Dec. 22 and she scored 16 points and hauled in seven rebounds while her team beat Dynamo-GUVD Novosibirsk 75-67 in overtime. To check out more of her offseason numbers, click here.

They Said It:

"Seimone has always been a terrific guard at the midrange game. That's been her gig since she was probably eight years old. She has a really sweet pull-up jumper. What makes her unique is that she does it under pressure, under tested situations. You think, if you're part of a team's scouting report and you're going against the team's best defender and often times, two players come over to find you and she STILL makes it. That's what makes her really impressive. That's what makes her an Olympian. She thrives on that." - Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve on the accuracy of the midrange jumpshot from Augustus.

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